Hanoi’s tourism sector urged to utilize potential

Tourism is considered a potential gold mine for Hanoi, yet the capital’s performance to boost the development of the sector has been limited.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi made the remark at a March 7 working session with the Hanoi Tourism Corporation.Hanoi has tourism advantages such as excellent cuisine, beautiful landscapes along with historical relic sites, craft villages and low spending costs. However, these advantages have not been fully tapped to turn Hanoi into an attractive tourism destination due to a lack of renovation, Nghi said.

He suggested the sector intensify the upgrading of tourism facilities, promote Hanoi’s images to the world and help tourism managers and staff improve their professional skills.

In 2013, the capital city welcomed 2.58 million foreign arrivals, earning US$ 1.83 billion and accounting for 14-15 percent of its GDP.